Pet Store Closing Hell

Hello again fellow RHUers! 

It's been a long busy summer during which I've really neglected to share any tales of terror from the Little Pet Shop of Horrors.  However, it's not without good reason.  So allow me to bring you this slimy little number, which in fact will be the very last that I'm able to share from the wretched hell of my former job. 

Yes, I said former job.

You see, after sixty years in business, the Little Pet Shop of Horrors has been euthanized.

I was suprised when it happened, but only for a minute, because I realized that it had been pretty obvious what was going on for a while.  Basically, the owner just ran out of money and had to declare bankruptcy.  I don't know why this didn't occur to me when the store stopped receiving shipments of inventory (dog food and pet accessories) replenishment... ...or when my boss--who is salaried--had to start working sixty hours a week... ...or when the thirty puppies that regularly filled the kennels dwindled down to only seven. 

Customers regularly said things like "oh, it's so empty in here, are you going out of business?" and I immediately got defensive, telling them "no, it's empty because we're SO BUSY and we sold everything."  Really, if I hadn't disregarded the inquiries (just because they came from stupid customers) and actually considered the observations, it probably wouldn't have been so surprising to arrive at work one morning to find the owner waiting with moving boxes. 

We didn't open for business that day.  

My co-worker, my boss, the owner, and I packed up the store into boxes, and packed up the few remaining animals into carrying cases.  I'm the only one who didn't start crying.  I did yell though, a LOT. 

Because the store was in a mall, as soon as the rest of the mall opened for the day people started swarming at the gates like parasites.  Are you closing?  What's going on??  I ignored them, since I technically no longer had a job and therefore no obligation to deal with them, but none of them took a hint.  You'd think the three adults crying would be enough to make them keep a polite distance, but no, not even in business any longer and I had pushy, rude, disrespectful custies hounding me. 

"What about all the dogs, what will happen to them," and old hag asked, more than once, oblivious to the fact that she was being ignored. 

I told her politely that she was being incredibly insensitive, that she was looking at a full-time employee who lost his four year job, a man who was dealing with closing his family business that he inherited from his father, and my boss who was due to have a baby in only two weeks... ...and whose boyfriend was also an employee of the pet store, meaning that her family officially had no income.

The hag's response to this information was, "but the dogs will be okay, right?"

My response, was to tell her that she was a soulless, compassionless, disrespectful cunt.

Another guy actually had the nerve to say that he was glad to see the store going out of business.  I threatened to beat him up.

Eventually I called mall security and told them that if they didn't send someone to keep customers away from the store front that I would attack the next one that bothered me.

After that no one bothered us for the rest of the afternoon.

I can't remember the last time that I was so ashamed of human beings.  I've seen customers do some pretty rude, dehumanizing, disrespectful things in the past, but that afternoon as they blatantly disregarded my coworkers' suffering was one of the times that I've hated them the most in my entire retail existance.

Thankfully I won't have to deal with them in that setting ever again.

I'm sure a lot of people are glad to hear that the Little Pet Shop of Horrors has closed.  I am too, to be honest, but not for the same reasons.  Having a job that puts you in the middle of a social issue that people think they feel strongly about is really hard.  People automatically associate all pet-stores with animal cruelty and unfairly treat employees of pet stores like they're minions of Satan.  Working a job where people that are ignorant to the real issues behind animal welfare openly condemn you on a daily basis breaks your spirit.  Especially when you are a person that cares about animals, enough to know where the real issues are... ...because while my store may have closed, animal cruelty didn't suddenly end that day.  It still exists, and the laws governing the animal industry are still a fucking disgrace.

Closing every pet store in existance still won't change this fact.

I've moved on though, I didn't waste any time looking for a new job. 

I did end up finding one that seems (so far) to be a pretty good fit for me.  I started not too long ago so once I'm settled I hope to bring you some new tales of terror.

--Cujo

 

 

Comments

[LadyRed]

Aww i'm sorry to hear about you losing your job there because the place closed, and what jerky people you ha to deal with . But I am glad you found a new place, and I look forward to your new stories.

[LadyRed]

Aww i'm sorry to hear about you losing your job there because the place closed, and what jerky people you ha to deal with . But I am glad you found a new job, and I look forward to your new stories.

[Humor_Me]

I know you'll miss your job, crazy custies and all. I hope everyone who worked there managed to get jobs too, especially your boss who was expecting a baby (hope it was healthy). Heaven knows he needs as much good news as possible!

When I lived in CT, I got to do my work evaluation in a pet store, so I got to know the owner and his son better. I already knew them because I shopped there for treats for my service dog. When my son lost his dad's trumpet *deep sigh*, I told the owner that I would have to cancel my order for the backpack I wanted because I was now going to have to figure out where I was going to get a trumpet. Amazingly, this guy played trumpet in high school and still had his so he offered it to my son providing he donated it to the school when he graduated.

It really hit me hard when he had to close his store, but Petslow opened up in the new mall and he couldn't compete. People "thought" they were getting a better deal, but I checked the prices, and they weren't really any different. I also got hella better service there. I used to occasionally meet up with the police K-9 who was madly in love with my SD, but she wouldn't have anything to do with him. It was really funny to watch him all but roll on his back, and she would just snub him completely. I really missed seeing him when the pet store closed. That dog was an absolute doll when he wasn't out catching criminals.

[Drug Store Diva]

People can be vultures when a store closes. I wouldn't be surprised if that woman was not worried about the dogs, she was worried about not being able to snag a deal because there wasn't a 'going out of business' sale

[Cujo, the former puppy-pimp who's in transition...]

Thanks guys! Oddly, it's liberating in a small way because that place made me feel horrible every day, but I feel like it ended just a little too soon.
I learned so much about the animal industry while I was there and I really liked being able to share the things that I learned about state laws and animal welfare acts on my blog, but I don't feel like I quite reached an ending.

Oh, and ironically, people did go looking for a discount after the store closed. The FB page blew up with people asking for discounts (not "oh are the dogs going to be okay??" but actually asking for DISCOUNTS) and one of them went to the bar that my boss's mother owned and asked her if they would find out from my boss about discounts ont he dogs.
It was so fucking pathetic.

[Quill]

I'm sorry to hear you lost your job, but congrats on getting a new one so quickly. Hopefully everyone else from the store will be so lucky. That must have been one hell of shock.

Some people are so insensitive! I can't believe you had people asking for discounts on dogs when the store was actually closed! Never mind that people have lost their jobs and livelihood, I want a cheap puppy! Jeez >_<

Anyway, good luck with your new job. May your co-workers be awesome and you custys have common sense!

[trekkiebabe31]

I remember when I was a teenager (many moons ago), and I loved just hanging out in the pet store at the mall, I was so sad when they closed! Good luck with your new job and don't let the insensitive jerks get you down!

[NC Tony]

"Do you have a job for me? No? Then I don't have any discounts for you, so get lost."

It's so sad that people these days are only concerned about themselves, and what discounts they can get when a business goes under. They could care less that people have lost their jobs, as long as they get a discount on merchandise. Good luck in the new job, and I hope your co-workers find themselves gainfully employed soon.

[Fellow Slave]

Buying a pet on a whim isn't like a pair of discount shoes or anything.

It's something that needs the utmost research.
And even I as a non-pet owner know that.

Best wishes to you and your former co-workers.
I hope all the best.

Always hate how people kick you when you are down and out.

[Significant]

Gee, I bet you're going to be so sad when you don't get hired for all of those other puppy mill pimps that you apply for. Oh wait, you'll probably take any other job, or do you love pet shops so much that it's the only position you'll take? Get off your high horse about people sticking up for animal rights. I've had establishments like this one shut down with the help of a few animal lovers just by posting on craigslist. Get a job that doesn't involve making animals fucking miserable. You have that choice, they don't. Pig.

[nucleon]

@ Significant: Go away and take your bile with you.

[Timekeeper's Twit]

WTF significant? That was uncalled for.

Cujo, you already know how I feel about all this but I wanted you to know again how proud I am of you for the way you handled all those nasty vultures. Keep smiling for me honey. Your smile could light the world :)<3

[iwbiek]

Significant, you're a goddamn hippy twat, as bad as all those customers, and I have a sneaking suspicion a lot of your attitude comes from never having your bony ass kicked. you're such a fuckin' hypocrite, whining about animal suffering and taking delight in human suffering.

guess what, dickwad? ALL CREATURES SUFFER. EVERYWHERE. that's fuckin' LIFE, you incredible cuntwad. animals suffer in nature. animals suffer in captivity. humans suffer too. everything fucking suffers, ask the buddha if you don't believe me. the only thing that relieves suffering is compassion, which you fucking have none of you, you narc piece of shit. even those animals you act like you care so fucking much about are only a crutch for your enormous ego. we all know cujo took goddamn good care of those animals, keeping them alive and as happy as possible in the circumstances.

how many animals have you adopted, giving them food and shelter? if pet stores offend you so much, why not go buy up their stock and "liberate" them? because that would require taking RESPONSIBILITY for a creature's life (kinda like cujo did, every fucking DAY), and it's so much more comfortable to sit back and be a self-righteous, pompous, shrill-voiced little fuck, isn't it?

[Ashley]

My applause for iwbiek. Well said, my friend.

Significant, get back under your bridge.

[TychaBrahe]

Hey, iwbiek,

Every one of my cats (eight in my lifetime, three at the moment) has been either a found-on-the-street stray or a shelter adoption. So I do think I have the right to give a crap about the animals at that pet store, most of which were probably from backyard breeders, people who treat animals as crap.

People have resources. The writer found another job soon after. There is unemployment for the employees. Hopefully they have savings. If worse comes to worse they can stay with family or friends. The woman who was pregnant has access to WIC, food stamps, and other forms of assistance. Puppies can't go to homeless shelters. Puppies can't apply for section-8 housing. Puppies go to animal shelters where every day thousands of animals are euthanized. And the ones that aren't live alone, in cages. Animals that we have bred for thousands of years to love us and want to be near us are kept isolated in cages.

So sell pet food and grooming supplies and tools. But don't sell animals. It's morally wrong. And don't blame the person who was worried about the animals. I would have been, too.

[Malmart Peon]

Also, Significant, please check your facts. The place was shut down because the owner filed for bankruptcy, not because the store abused animals or anything like that.

The animals will find homes. What about the people who are now in danger of losing theirs? My sympathies, Cujo, and I'm glad you found another job. :)

[iwbiek]

TychaBrahe,

morality, even generally accepted, is subjective, so i'm not impressed with the moral argument, and yes i know some pet stores euthanize pets. my whole point (which i made very clear) was twofold:

1. there's a time and a place to peddle your cause-of-the-month, and right up in the face of a person who is devastated because they lost a job they cared about and did well (whether you agree with it in principle or not) is neither the time nor the place.

2. everything suffers, no matter where it is. an animal who is euthanized humanely probably dies much more comfortably than it would in the wild, at the claws or teeth of another animal, or from slow starvation, or from some awful disease. no matter how much some dipshit whines or pickets, he or she will NEVER stop the suffering of animals. that doesn't mean they should give up their beliefs, but it does mean it's not worth trying to kick a person in the balls when they're down, which is exactly what Significant tried to do to cujo, and exactly what pissed me off.

truthfully, i don't give a fuck about this issue either way. i grew up on a farm. we had countless dogs, often as many as 10 at a time, and never bought a single one at a pet shop. they all had their shots, they all got fixed, they all got fed, and many times got fat. i had to shoot dying dogs for various reasons several times. it was a tasteless job, but a necessary one, and it taught me that nature is pretty much cruel and shitty. once you've had to put a bullet behind a cow's ear because a coyote left its guts trailing out, it makes you realize there's no point in being an asshole unless it's absolutely necessary. if i ever saw an animal in a pet store i liked, i'd probably buy it. if all pet stores were banned, i wouldn't bat an eye, much less lobby to bring them back. that's pretty much it, but anybody from either side of the issue who decides to use it to be a prick to a decent person can fuck right off.

[nucleon]

@ iwbiek: I'm more sympathetic towards TychaBrahe as he/she actually posted a decent argument that wasn't an attack on the OP. I'm not going to argue with you about this not being the right place/time to post such an argument, but it still has more right to be posted here as opposed to a certain earlier post.

[Evie]

People who believe that caring about animals and caring about your fellow man are somehow mutually exclusive confuse the hell out of me. So Cujo lost his job, and was upset about it, and your comment is that he's not as bad off as some puppies you don't know a darn thing about? You remind me of this lady who works in my office, who if you call in to say you have the flu, will fire back with, "You think YOU have it bad? *I* have ANGINA" or some such irrelevant BS.

Cujo, you're right. Anyone who pesters you about animal rights on a day like that is an unfeeling shitbag. What are they even trying to prove? You don't win allies by being an unmitigated asshole.

[Jenyfur]

Everyone listen up as I have something quite important to say; STOP FEEDING THE TROLLS!

I'm glad that you managed to find a new job quickly after the pet store closing Cujo. Hopefully things will be better for you there instead of being badgered by ignorant assholes. :3

[iwbiek]

nucleon, the time and place remark referred to Significant. my argument with TychaBrahe was that the morality or immorality of pet shops is a nonissue with me and wasn't the reason i went off on Significant.

[FriendlyNotFlirty]

@Cujo: Glad you found a new job :) I'm sorry the store ended up being closed, but life happens, right? Good luck to you and your fellow pet store employees :)

[Significant]

Whenever I started reading people who were frothing at the mouth to my reply, I stopped reading immediately. Congratulations on your time wasted. I will however, give thanks and bow to Tycha. You said what I wanted to say with much more eloquence and patience, many thanks to you for actually understanding what compassion is. You are a true human being.

[Significant]

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